Thanks to Stephen Timms MP for his support on the night and a special thank you to Jamal who hosted the event, and to his friends who came over from different parts of London to perform. Their poems on stigma and social issues really resonated with the audience.

Jamal is an award-winning writer & performer who is currently on a promo tour for his debut book ‘Words Within Walls’, a collection of journals he kept whilst in prison, touching upon everything from his personal struggles with mental health and how he used writing as a form of therapy, to the excessive levels of violence and suicide within our criminal justice system. He’s launching his book at City Hall on 29th November, find out more by emailing Jamal: Jamal-khan1@outlook.com.

In addition to the above achievements, we’ve also held a series of workshops for practitioners working with parents, young people, and families in Newham across a range of different services including mental health, domestic violence, education and employment. This has included Hidden Harm training, Alcohol Identification and Brief Advice (IBA) and Blue Light Manual Training run by our consultant Mike Ward. We are also in the process of partnering with CGL Newham Rise to extend their family services from Canning Town to Stratford and Manor Park.

Looking ahead we will be piloting our Youth Ambassador programme to train young people in Newham in communication and campaigning, and raising awareness of the harms of substance misuse. Please check out Adfam’s Twitter page as we will be tweeting weekly updates from Newham.

There are many more exciting things to come, so please watch this space. If you have any families in Newham affected by a loved one’s substance misuse please do get in touch.

To those that don’t know, chemsex is the use of drugs during sex to enhance and inhibit the experience. It predominantly takes place between men in the gay community and the drugs typically involved are methamphetamine, mephedrone and GHB/GBL. Sometimes the drugs are injected, known as ‘slamming’.

It can encourage risky behaviours such as condomless sex and sharing needles putting people in danger of HIV or other sexually transmitted infections. There is also the evident risk of when drug use is combined with sexual activity as drug use can reduce people’s ability to keep themselves safe. And perhaps the biggest risk of all, loss of life through overdose, something that can occur with GHB and occurred recently in the tragic case of Paddy Bloor, told by his bereaved mother and father in this moving piece.

Supporting a friend, partner, or family member affected by problematic alcohol or drug use can be difficult. This further applies when a loved one is engaging in chemsex and can have a hugely detrimental impact on the wellbeing of affected others, whether that’s families, partners or friends.

Although family support groups exist, they are not generally LGBT specific, and people attending may not feel comfortable talking about a same-sex partner, or about sensitive issues such as chemsex.

That’s why London Friend are working with Adfam to pilot support specifically for families, friends and partners of people that have a problematic relationship with chemsex. This important intervention will provide affected others the specific support they need and the space to meet and share with others affected by this issue, and who can properly associate with what they are going through.

This bold plan argues for children and families to be at the heart of the Government’s new alcohol strategy, building on the Government’s plans to help children of alcohol-dependent parents which were unveiled earlier this year. Recommendations include having evidence-based support for families affected by alcohol available in every local authority, action to better identify and support carers, better information for parents to inform their own drinking, and steps to address the wider role of alcohol in society. We know that alcohol misuse can have a devastating impact on families; now is the time to act.

This was brought home as a family member shared how her father’s alcohol problem had affected her, and how difficult it is for families to speak out. Caroline Flint MP, Fiona Bruce MP and Liam Byrne MP all spoke about the need for action, and issued a rallying cry to raise awareness of alcohol-related harm to families and fight for change.

Parliamentary Launch of Families First. Photo: Cheryl P.

And the Government is listening. Steve Brine MP, the Public Health Minister, opened the launch event with supportive comments and a commitment to officially respond to Families First as if it were a select committee report, and stressed his willingness to partner with the voluntary sector to take this forward.

This is an exciting time for the Alcohol and Families Alliance, but we must not be complacent. As Naomi Eisenstadt, Chair of the AFA, said we need to make sure that alcohol and families stays on the agenda. Adfam and the Alcohol and Families Alliance will be doing just that over the coming months.

The Alcohol and Families Alliance was set up in 2013 by Adfam and Alcohol Concern. It is now comprised of almost 40 organisations from across the alcohol and children and families sectors. Find out more at www.alcoholandfamiliesalliance.org.